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George Zimmerman was released from jail on Tuesday after his arrest on charges related to an argument with his girlfriend.
Zimmerman, 30, is facing a felony charge of aggravated assault with a weapon, and misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and criminal mischief in connection with the incident that happened Monday at a home in Apopka, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013)

George Zimmerman was released from jail on Tuesday after his arrest on charges related to an argument with his girlfriend.

Zimmerman, 30, is facing a felony charge of aggravated assault with a weapon, and misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and criminal mischief in connection with the incident that happened Monday at a home in Apopka, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said.

Sporting a beard and wearing dark jail clothing and handcuffs, Zimmerman was ordered by Seminole County Judge Fred Schott to stay away from his girlfriend, not possess firearms or ammunition and stay in Florida if he posts bond.

He will also have to wear an electronic monitoring device, Judge Schott ordered.

Prosecutor Lymary Munoz had asked for $50,000 bond, and alleged that Zimmerman was involved in a choking incident with his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, a week and a half ago that went unreported. Munoz also said Zimmerman had recently mentioned suicide.

Zimmerman's public defenders asked for bond to be set at $4,900, and asked for the electronic monitor fee to be waived, noting that Zimmerman is indigent.

Judge Schott set the bond at $8,900 for the assault charge and $50 for the two misdemeanors, noting that the increase was due to the alleged choking incident.

"I'm not increasing your bond because of anything that's happened in the past, because as far as I'm concerned this is a brand new case," Judge Schott said.

Judge Schott waived the fee but denied a request from Zimmerman's attorneys that he be allowed to retrieve his belongings from Scheibe's home.

After Tuesday's hearing, Zimmerman's attorneys told reporters they expect he will post bond and be released from jail by Wednesday morning. They also said Zimmerman is maintaining his innocence.

"He didn't appear to be a danger to himself or a danger to anybody else. Is this a stressful event for him? Probably, as it would be for anybody here," assistant public defender Daniel Megaro said. "I don't think he's going to hurt himself or anybody else."

Zimmerman is due back in court on Jan. 7.

The latest incident began Monday when deputies responded to a 911 call about a disturbance at the home where Zimmerman has been living with Scheibe, in the 1300 block of Topfield Court, according to the sheriff’s office.

Scheibe told deputies they had a verbal dispute, she asked Zimmerman to leave and he began packing his belongings, which included a shotgun and an AR assault rifle, according an arrest report. Zimmerman cocked the shotgun before he placed it in a single carry case, Scheibe told deputies.

She began to carry out his other items and put them in the living room and outside. Zimmerman became upset and removed the shotgun from the case, and Scheibe told him she was calling police because she was nervous about why he pulled out the gun, the arrest report said.

“Zimmerman then pointed the shotgun at Scheibe for a minute, and asked her if she really wanted to do that,” the report said.

When Scheibe stepped back, Zimmerman smashed a glass coffee table with the butt of the shotgun and told her to leave the home, according to the report.

She was able to get to the front of the house and call 911, but Zimmerman ultimately pushed her out of the home and locked the door, according to the sheriff’s office. He barricaded the door with several pieces of small furniture, the sheriff's office added.

Scheibe was not injured and no one else was home at the time, Seminole County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma said at a news conference Monday.

Zimmerman called 911 from inside the barricaded house to tell his side of the story. He told a dispatcher that his girlfriend had gone crazy on him.

Zimmerman then said he never pulled a gun on his girlfriend, and that it was Scheibe who smashed a table at the home they shared. He also told the dispatcher that Scheibe was pregnant with their child and that she had decided she would raise the child on her own. When Zimmerman started to leave, she got mad, he said.

Lemma said at the news conference that Scheibe wasn't pregnant.

When deputies arrived they used her key to enter the house and pushed through the items that were behind the door, the sheriff’s office said. Zimmerman was not armed and offered no resistance as deputies took him into custody, Lemma said.

Zimmerman was acquitted in July of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the 2012 shooting of Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic dispute in September just days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers, but police later said no charges were filed against either of them because of a lack of evidence.

Earlier Tuesday, NBC News reported Zimmerman is $2.5 million in debt. His attorneys said they didn't know how he's supporting himself.

"I would think it'd be rather difficult for George Zimmerman to get a job here in central Florida," public defender Jeff Dowdy said.